University researchers have provided further insight into a new field of chemistry that will improve solar energy harvesting and storage.

In a paper published in the journal Nature Communications, Pengfei (Frank) Huo, an assistant professor of chemistry, along with PhD students Xinyang Li and Arkajit Mandal, furthered their research in polariton chemistry—an emerging field that uses quantum optics to control molecules.

“We used theory and numerical simulations to unravel the mystery of using photon fields to manipulate chemistry,” Huo says. “This line of research will facilitate a quantum leap in chemistry by taking advantage of the quantum mechanical nature of photons to enable new ‘tuning knobs’ that are usually not accessible to chemists.”

Polariton chemistry allows researchers to catalyze new chemical reactions by taking advantage of the quantum mechanical nature of photons, the fundamental particles of light. The researchers use optical cavities—devices that are typically an arrangement of mirrors—to trap photons. When molecules are placed into the optical cavity and coupled with a quantum radiation field inside the optical cavity, the photons are able to control and alter the chemical reactivity and energy transfer between the molecules.

Huo and the members of his lab used Rochester’s Blue Hive supercomputer to simulate the hybridized light/matter states, called polaritons, that occur when molecules interact with photons in an optical cavity. They found that the quantum radiation field surrounding the photons slows down the reaction rate of molecules.

“It turns out that the quantized radiation field acts like an effective `solvent,’” says Li, the lead author of the paper and a PhD student in Huo’s lab.

The findings help explain the results of experiments first demonstrated by Thomas Ebbesen and his research group at the University of Strasbourg in France, who showed that it is possible to suppress or enhance the reactivity of molecules when they are placed inside an optical cavity. The new insights demonstrated by Huo and his research group provide a better understanding of how this process occurs, which is crucial information for improving synthetic chemistry and solar fuel production. The research also has broader fundamental applications to the field of chemistry at large.

Provost Rob Clark has announced several important updates to central leadership roles at the University, including:

• Jeffrey Runner, who has been reappointed to a second five-year term as dean of the College, will also become the University’s new vice provost and dean for undergraduate education.
• Julie Myers, deputy chief information technology officer, has been named vice president and chief information officer.
• Sandra Cannon, the University’s chief data officer, has been promoted to vice provost for data governance.
• Sandhya Dwarkadas, the Albert Arendt Hopeman Professor of Engineering, has been named interim associate vice president for research.

Dwarkadas succeeds Richard Waugh and will report to Stephen Dewhurst, currently vice dean for research at the School of Medicine and Dentistry, who will serve a one-year appointment as interim vice president for research. As a researcher, Dwarkadas has made fundamental contributions in both hardware and software to the ongoing quest to improve the efficiency and speed of parallel and distributed computing systems. She served as chair of the Department of Computer Science and is a recipient of the 2020 Edmund A. Hajim Outstanding Faculty Award.

Waugh, the founding chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, will return to his own research projects as a faculty member. As associate vice president for research, Waugh was instrumental in helping build a community of University researchers, and in establishing new ways for faculty to collaborate and to build connections with national, state, and commercial research opportunities, Clark says. “He’s a true faculty scholar who always made sure that his colleagues at the University could do their best work.”

Read more about the changes, which will strengthen a University-wide perspective on essential areas of institutional responsibility. The appointees will be members of the University cabinet when they begin their new roles on July 1.

Tooth decay is the single most common chronic childhood disease.

The standard of care for severe tooth decay  in very young children (Severe Early Childhood Caries) revolves around treatment in a surgical operating suite under general anesthesia. This is followed by application of 5% topical fluoride varnish, family counseling regarding feeding behaviors and oral hygiene instruction. However, these interventions have had only limited success.

The Eastman Institute for Oral Health has been awarded $6 million by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research to examine the effectiveness of a topical anti-microbial agent. It is designed to prevent new cavities that require surgical intervention after initial treatment and oral rehabilitation in young children with severe tooth decay.

Pioneering studies by Robert Berkowitz, retired chair of EIOH Pediatric Dentistry, showed that a commonly used pre-surgical antimicrobial agent applied topically to the teeth could suppress growth of the bacteria most commonly associated with tooth decay. His work suggested that povidone iodine had the potential to prevent recurrent cavities following treatment and rehabilitation. To test this hypothesis, this new grant will implement a single center randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to assess the efficacy of povidone iodine to prevent new cavities from developing following treatment.

“Novel and more aggressive approaches are needed because clinical studies show about 40% of children treated for severe tooth decay will develop new cavities within 12 months of treatment,” says Dorota Kopycka-Kedzierawski, an Eastman Institute professor and principal investigator for the study. Read more here.

The AS&E Dean’s Research Office will present a Humanities and Social Sciences Fellowship Workshop, by zoom from 3-4:30 p.m. next Thursday, June 24th.

The workshop will include:

• Fellowship and grant funding application process overview
• Office of Research and Project Administration (ORPA) and Integrated Online Research Administration (IORA) overview
• Panel discussion with faculty who have been awarded fellowships

Please register here by Tuesday, June 22.        

The Summer 2021 Colloquium Series of the Goergen Institute for Data Science features free, virtual, data science research talks through July. The talks are on Wednesdays from noon to 1 p.m.

These are the remaining presentations, with links to more information and how to register:

• 6/23 – Developing Trust in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for High-Stakes Applications, with Kush R. Varshney, Distinguished Research Staff Member and Manager, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center
• 7/7 – Future of Health Care: Will Artificial Intelligence Replace Doctors?, with Michael Hasselberg, Senior Director of Digital Health, University of Rochester Medical Center
• 7/21 – On the Deployment of Predictive Models in Health Care – Case Studies of Hospital Readmission and ED Severe Sepsis and Decompensation, with Louis Ehwerhemuepha, Senior Data Scientist, Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC Children’s)

The Early-Stage Faculty Boot Camp is a free, year-long course created to address a professional development need for early-stage faculty engaged in any of the career paths available in academic medicine.

It is designed to facilitate career development based on practical knowledge from local experts and peers. Virtual meetings will be held on the second Wednesday of each month, noon – 1:30 p.m., October 2021 – June 2022.

The program is made possible through educational funds from the UR CTSI and the Dean’s office. Apply by Tuesday, August 31.

For questions, contact Janine Shapiro or Ronnie Guillet.